1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication management system, a communication management method, and a communication device. The present invention is applicable for maintaining communication service in the communication system, for example, when a failure occurs in a system that processes a packet on a network.
2. Description of Related Art
In a system switching technique of the related art, a packet data conversion processor used in a media gateway device has a redundant configuration capable of shortening down-time for communication when a fault occurs.
In the media gateway device, packet data is converted between existing telephonic communications and VoIP (Voice Over IP). That is, a communication medium is changed between the time division multiplex communication and the packet communication. In such a media gateway device, the packet data conversion processor has a redundant configuration formed of two systems: an active system and a standby system. When the standby system is switched to the active system, the processing can be performed using the communication information used so far by setting the same communication information as in the active system in the standby system. Down-time for communication can thus be shortened in the above technique
Specifically in the improved art, a layer 2 switch is connected to an active system packet processor and a standby system packet processor. When a failure is detected by a fault detection circuit connected to the layer 2 switch, the layer 2 switch causes the standby system to take over the operation from the active system, by referring to a preregistered VLAN port reference table.
However, although the media gateway device in the related art includes the redundant configuration of the packet data conversion processor and performs the system switching processing, it has the following possible problem. That is, the media gateway device in the related art cannot cope with a failure that occurs in a processor for receiving the communication from a network, or a controller that manages the same data for the packet data conversion processing in the active system and the standby system.
In addition, the media gateway device in the improved related art has the following possible problem. That is, it cannot cope with a failure when the failure occurs in the layer 2 switch itself, including the fault detection circuit for monitoring and detecting a failure in a connection port destination device.
Accordingly, what is needed are a communication management system, a communication management method, and a communication device capable of maintaining the provision of the communication service even when a failure occurs in a communication processor, a packet processing controller, or a layer 2 switch itself configured to switch data in the communication device.